This invention relates in general to electroacoustic transducers and in particular to a new and useful mounting for said transducer.
The purpose of an elastic support of an electroacoustic transducer, such as of the electrostatic or electrodynamic type, in a surrounding housing is to prevent sound conducted through solids, vibrations, shocks, and impacts, from producing a direct effect on the transducer, and to protect the transducer from mechanical damages under extraordinary shocks caused by hitting or falling on a hard body. Due to the elastic fixation of its diaphragm, every electroacoustic transducer represents a mechanical oscillatory system taking up not only sound but also any disturbance imparted thereto which is then delivered as an electrical signal to the amplifier and reproduced as a noise. The elastic support acts as a mechanical filter by which, with a proper dimensioning, the disturbing energy is dissipated to the largest extent.
It is further known that in microphones having a uni-directional space pattern, a sound path must be provided from the front side to the rear side of the diaphragm of the electroacoustic transducer, which must not later be changed or otherwise incluenced if the transducer is to have the provided optimum characteristic. This is to be observed particularly if a shockproof mounting of the transducer or transducer capsule in a housing is provided. In prior art designs, this requirement is not met since the elements of conventional elastic supports on one side embrace the cylindrical surface of the transducer and on the other side, are secured to the inside of the housing in a manner impermeable to sound. Even with a housing permeable to sound, this notably extends the sound path from the front side to the rear side of the diaphragm, so that conditions under which the transducer shows its best directional performance are not satisfied. Consequently, the directional pattern is deformed and the directional effect is impaired.